In New York, pizza doesn't flop anymore

At Chrissy's Pizza in Greenpoint and Mano's in Ridgewood, the details matter, but the trends don't.

Before 2020, I never thought about pizza. It was a commodity, like gas or hot water, something that I expected to predictably flow whenever I turned a lever.

It’s not that I didn’t appreciate a good slice. My brother’s a pizza man. My first job was at a pizzeria (my brother hired, then fired me). And growing up on Long Island, we weren’t ever allowed to order Domino’s or Pizza Hut; it had to be a local spot, like Gino’s or Mama Mia’s.

But the New York slice has changed in the past decade. Spots like Scarr’s started milling flour in the basement in Chinatown, while folks lined up for a more artisanally produced pie at Lucali in Carroll Gardens. Paulie Gee put hot honey on his pies for the first time in Greenpoint, initiating a worldwide trend. Frank Pinello started hosting The Pizza Show, while making his own mozzarella for his shop in Williamsburg. And, yeah, at some point, Dave Portnoy began holding up slices and declaring “no flop” as a sign of quality, likely sparking a wider trend of cooking pizzas longer and crispier.

Chris Hansell, owner of Chrissy’s Pizza, told me his style has nothing to do with current tastes or trends. He famously started making pizza in his Bushwick apartment, and his new shop in Greenpoint has lines out the door. He only sells pies, no slices, and they come out with their crusts beautifully bronzed. But Chris’s thoughtful approach owes more to his father than anyone else.

“My dad would always order his pizzas well done, as he felt like if the shop we were at was too busy, they’d undercook the pies a bit to get them out the door quicker. And in turn, we wouldn’t get a top quality pizza,” Chris told me. “My pizza exists almost solely to honor my dad’s memory, so when developing the recipe over the last 5 years, the goal outside of the general flavor was to get them as crispy as my dad liked them.”

The vodka pie from Chrissy’s Pizza in Greenpoint. 142 Nassau Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

That bit of inspiration has resulted in a novel and tasty pie. His vodka pie is sometimes called “The Astoria,” named for one of his mentors, Andrew Bellucci. The vodka sauce, cooked for over 3 hours, is inspired by Belluci’s recipe. The dough is Chris’s recipe, now fermenting “somewhere around 55 hours.” You pick a slice up and it sits in the air like a star destroyer. It’s worth lining up for.

Over in Ridgewood, Queens, Mano’s Pizzeria recently earned the title of the 4th best slice of pizza in the United States. And something happens there that never happened in the suburbs I grew up in: Mano’s Pizzeria runs out of dough.

“When I was opening I called just about every place and asked how long they ferment the dough for,” owner Nick Manopella told me. “More places than not said we make it in the morning and use it in the afternoon.”

A selection of slices from Mano’s Pizzeria, 62-98 Forest Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385

“The old school places, although still very good, never changed the flour. The potassium bromated flours are just not good for you,” he said. “So we get imported 00 Americana super and ferment it for 5 days. No one does that.”

That means that a slice of pizza that sits on the counter at Mano’s, even though it was baked just prior, was actually begun nearly a week earlier. The shape and look of the slice is the same as a New York slice, but the chemistry inside is totally different. The resulting crust is thinner, crispier, and slightly more caramelized.

“Pizza growing up was always a bit denser… You eat two slices and feel like you just ate a rock,” Nick told me. “Now pizzerias are starting to understand what actually makes great pizza. It starts with the dough.”

When Nick’s dough is sold out, it’s sold out. The dough that’s been fermenting for 4 days is for tomorrow, not today. It’s best to get there early. Despite being located on the border of Maspeth in Ridgewood, the crowd at noon on a weekday can be intense. But nothing beats a 5-day-fermented New York slice, fresh hot out of the oven. And I didn’t feel too shabby after eating 3 slices, either.

For the rest of my non-pizza recs, consider subscribing to the newsletter to scroll below the fold. Thanks for reading!

Rob’s Recs - Week of 02/24/25

The only restaurant I want to go back to in New York City……